Observations, articles, opinions etc. in Dutch and English. The author, Bert de Bruin (Yonathan Dror Bar-On), is a Dutch-Jewish historian, who has specialized in modern Jewish history and in the history of the Middle East, and who in 1995 emigrated from the Netherlands to Israel. He wrote one book (2008), and edited another (2011), both in Dutch. For feedback please post a comment, or send this blog's author an email: (hisdutchname)atyahoodotcom

Saturday, May 31, 2003

Regarding "Wanted by Utah: firing-squad volunteers", IHT, May 30, 2003:
In today's America, execution by firing-squad seems to be the perfect method for carrying out death sentences. Not only does it combine two apparently very characteristic traits of modern American society: the thirst for revenge and the love of guns. It also offers - although death penalty supporter Shery Allen uses this as an argument against the use of firing squads - a great spectacle, much more than the more 'civilized', sterile lethal injection.

Friday, May 30, 2003

Regarding "Sharon has converted out" by Israel Harel, Ha'Aretz, May 29, 2003:
An important indication of the revolutionary character of Ariel Sharon's words regarding the occupation is the shock, anger, disappointment and alarm expressed by a chorus of representatives of the settler communities in newspaper articles and commentaries, on television and radio and on internet fora. Not surprisingly also Ha'Aretz's own 'pet-settler' Israel Harel has joined that chorus. It almost seems that who used to be the godfather of the colonists' movement now has become its most serious and dangerous enemy. Interestingly enough, the source of much skepticism on the left - " the oaths and pledges that Sharon has broken " - has become a source of hope for those who apparently are unwilling or unable to imagine an occupation-free version of Zionism.

Sunday, May 25, 2003

Regarding "Norway on terror hit list", and "Suicide bombers kill Arabs, too", IHT, Friday, May 23, 2003:
There is no reason for Norwegians to rack their brains wondering why they apparently are on the hit list mentioned by Ayman Zawahiri. Even if it turns out that Norway and Norwegians were not supposed to be mentioned specifically as potential targets for future attacks by Al Qaeda and/or other Islamist terror groups, they still fall into the category of "other crusaders", a term regularly used by Islamists as a synonym for Westerners in general, to be distinguished from but targeted just as easily as the other enemies of their particular brand of Islam, i.e. Jews or 'Zionists' and non-Islamist Muslims. As Helen Schary Motro pointed out in her moving commentary on the Arab victims of suicide bombers in Israel, " When people set out with murder in their hearts, there is no telling whose lives will be shattered ". Local conflicts and injustices are frequently used as lame excuses for actions by organizations such as al Qaeda. Still, Ayman Zawahiri and his fellow terrorists are the enemies of all of us, whether we live in Israel, Palestine, Bali, Chechnya, ...or even Norway.

Saturday, May 24, 2003

Regarding "Rivlin: Justice Barak leading 'constitutional coup' " and "Lapid blasts speaker for 'incitement' ", Ha'Aretz, May 23, 2003:
Few things portray the state of the state of Israel's democracy better than Thursday's frontal attack by who is supposed to personify that democracy, Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin, against the Supreme Court and its president, Aharon Barak. Reuven Rivlin is right, "the real danger to Israeli democracy [...] is at home - from inside the establishment". The establishment, though, that Mr Rivlin and Michael Eitan should blame first and foremost for the damage done to Israel's democracy is the political one, at both the opposition and the government level. The party of which Rivlin and Eitan are proud members has also done its share of damage. True, the Israeli Right did not invent corruption, wheeler-dealing, and small-interest-groups politics ( for that we have to thank, among others, many of the founding fathers of the State ), but it seems to have turned all that into an art, and made it into an even more inseparable part of our daily lives. Elected officials who are either directly or indirectly responsible for the recent farce surrounding the (non)lifting of the parliamentary immunity of one of their own should sit silently in a corner and be ashamed of themselves, instead of hurling accusations at one of the last national institutions in Israel that at least appears to try to preserve law-abiding as a national priority.

Thursday, May 22, 2003

Regarding "Financial woes drive Binyamina man to suicide", Ha'Aretz, May 22, 2003:
Reading about Ze'ev Nir's tragic death, I wondered why his story appears to be more moving than most of the other sad stories we read about these days. Is it because many of us know something about the beautiful Israel of the 'good old days' through the work of his brother, Ehud Manor, and learnt about the early death of their younger brother through Ehud's songs and interviews? Or is it because we recognize ourselves in the plight of Ze'ev Nir, in the financial uncertainties that he faced and that might or might not have moved him towards suicide? What made a particular impression on me was to read about his fears of not being able to help his children financially and leave them something after his death. A couple of weeks ago we celebrated 55 years of independence for the Jewish state. We should start to make an effort to make Israel truly independent. Part of that effort, I believe, is to transform the economy and bring down the prices of housing, education and other basic necessities in such a way, that when a person reaches the age of 18 - or at least as soon as (s)he leaves the army - (s)he basically will be able to depend on him/herself financially. Of course parents can and probably should help out, but the current situation - with parents, who should start enjoying the second half of their lives and the wonders of grandparenthood, often having to make debts to finance their children's weddings, studies and apartments - is ridiculous and distressing.

Monday, May 19, 2003

Regarding "Three terrorists went to same college", Ha'aretz, May 19, 2003
( Published in Ha'Aretz, May 20, 2003 ):
In the article on the three terrorists-murderers who carried out the suicide bombings in Hebron and Jerusalem on Saturday eve and Sunday morning it says that their videotaped 'wills/testaments' carried all a similar message. Their attacks " were aimed at destabilizing the new Palestinian government with Mahmoud Abbas at its head and at preventing the implementation of the Quartet's road map and any renewal of security cooperation between Israel and the Palestinian Authority". Am I wrong or did at least one (extreme)right-wing MK recently travel all the way to the United States to lobby Congress members, Christian fundamentalists and other sincere and less sincere supporters of Israel for almost exactly the same causes? If so, besides deducing once more that several groups on the different sides of the dividing lines of the Arab-Israeli conflict often have all too similar goals, we may conclude that there is yet another field in which our enemies have outmatched us: the deathwishes of the suicide bombers are being satisfied almost instantly. Therefore MK Yuri Stern and his colleagues should rather spend their travel budgets on worthier causes.

Saturday, May 17, 2003

Regarding "Netanyahu declares war on unions" and "Survey: Israel yet to grasp concept of democracy", Ha'Aretz, May 16, 2003:
In the same issue in which we read that Benjamin Netanyahu "declared war on the unions" we find a tiny frontpage article about what might be called the erosion of democratic values treasured by Israeli adults "representing all sectors of Israel's population". Even though I have my doubts whether the workers' interests are all that Amir Peretz c.s. have in mind when they confront the government, and even though I believe that sometimes workers in parts of the Israeli economy have abused their democratic right to strike, our Finance Minister should choose his words more carefully, as the right to strike is still that, a democratic right. Mr Netanyahu says that the country being held by the throat by " a handful of large workers' committees" is "intolerable in a properly run country". Let us remind him that the same goes for having a Prime Minister spend too much of his precious time promoting laws that are favorable to his own interests; labour relations being determined in parliament instead of within agreements between workers, employers and the state; straigthforwardness and integrity being a liability, not an asset for a politician, whether in government or in the opposition; education, socio-economic structures and the environment being at the bottom of every list of budget-priorities. As long as he is still unable to take credit for finally making the Jewish state a 'properly run country', Mr Netanyahu should rather devote himself to conducting proper negotiations, instead of focusing on mudslinging and arousing strife between employers and workers, as well as among workers themselves.

Friday, May 16, 2003

Regarding "Hanegbi: Temple Mt. to open to Jews soon", Ha'Aretz, May 15, 2003:
It is interesting that a representative of the Israeli Right says about access to the Temple Mount for Jews: " It will be opened by agreement, but if no agreement is reached, things will be done without agreement.", whereas when it comes to what appear to be much less controversial - and for Israel far more profitable - decisions such as leaving Southern Lebanon or ( parts of ) the occupied territories that same Right has always insisted that agreement with 'the other side' is absolutely needed. If there is one issue that might kindle Muslim-Jewish tensions in the region once again - as if these need rekindling - it is (re)opening the Temple Mount for Jews. Of course, adherents of all regions should one day be able to pray at this holy place whenever they want, but is now the right time to enforce such sensitive and explosive matters of principle in such a provocative way? When Mr Hanegbi says that providing access to Jews to the Temple Mount is "...the right, the moral and the logical thing", he should be aware that leaving the territories is just as right, as moral and as logical.

Thursday, May 15, 2003

This picture appeared in today's Ha'Aretz. I do not know why and how this particular building was demolished, nor do I want to enter right here and now the discussion about the legality, the usefulness etc. of the demolition policy. Besides the face of the poor kid, the main reason why I put this picture here ( it is tiny, but that was all I could find on www.haaretzdaily.com, in the printed edition the photo is much larger ) is the caption: "Precious: A youth collecting valuables from the rubble of a house demolished yesterday by the IDF in Khan Yunis". What he appears to be holding are a broken lamp and a bunch of plastic flowers.

Tuesday, May 13, 2003

Regarding "Beneath the surface, empathy for U.K. bombing suspect", IHT, May 12, 2003:
Often it appears that in Europe foreign Muslim elements ( often from or with links to Middle Eastern countries ) are the ones who stir up and cultivate feelings of hatred and fanatically-religious fervor in the hearts and minds of young local Muslims who feel alienated within the countries where they were born or grew up, mostly as a result of the failure of the concept of a multicultural society. Of course Jews - identified with Israel, the very existence of which has become the scapegoat for all the woes of Muslims all over the world, rather than faulty, corrupt and immoral behavior of Muslim leaders - are singled out as the perfect target for that hatred and fervor. When it comes to the fight against terrorism the leaders of the West have a difficult threefold task: to force and/or seduce Palestinians and Israelis into reaching some sort of permanent and just peace agreement, so that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the Israeli occupation cannot be used as an excuse for terrorism anymore; to fight terrorists and terror infrastructures with all means that are possible within democratic states; to seriously start dealing with the problems of youngsters who feel alienated within Western societies, giving them the opportunity to become an integral part of those societies without allowing them or others to abuse Western liberties in order to attack innocent civilians and Western interests.

Monday, May 12, 2003

Regarding "Father figure", Ha'Aretz Magazine, May 9, 2003:
Thank you for the interesting portrait of and interview with Meir Sheetrit, whose life indeed looks like a personal success story. As he "has been there", the fact that he stresses the value of personal responsibility and of personal dignity through work carries some weight. Also his 'dream' regarding the budget of the Education Ministry and his comments on the importance of a teacher's authority, as well as on discipline and achievements within the educational system make much sense. What seriously weakens Sheetrit's arguments, though, is the reality of him being an influential and enthusiastic member of a government that - not unlike previous governments in Israel - can hardly be credited for making education a priority when it comes to budgetary preferences or to personal attention from those who call the shots in the real corridors of power. Besides, when Mr Sheetrit claims that the 13 percent of the population who pay 90 percent of the income tax deserve a break, he seems to forget that most ordinary people do not work less hard for their money and also pay taxes and fulfill their other civic duties. There is a big policy gap between on one hand having the very rich get even richer while the poor and very poor get into an even more miserable situation, and on the other hand what Bibi's loyal assistant absurdly calls killing the rich and making them leave the country. It would do Meir Sheetrit honor if he appeared to make a bigger and more serious effort to close this gap.

Sunday, May 11, 2003

Regarding Opinion & Comment page ( Articles by Uzi Benziman, Gideon Levy, Reuven Pedatzur ), Ha'Aretz, May 11, 2003:
Today's newspaper contained three opinion articles about different aspects of the ongoing breakdown of Israel as an enlightened, open, democratic society. Uzi Benziman discusses the shadiness of the Sharon family's business dealings, Gideon Levy writes about the overly violent record of the Border Police, while Reuven Pedatzur calls attention to the continuing militarization of Israeli society, which steadily leads towards an almost total lack of control by non-military elected officials when it comes to diplomatic-political decisions that are either directly or remotely related to national security. What worries me more than all these three news items together is the ease with which they - and other affairs, incidents, scandals - have become an almost indispensable part of our daily lives. In a functioning democratic state similar reports would switch on each and every possible red light, whereas here we read them, raise one or two eyebrows and proceed to the order of the day. European and American incentives, pressure and intervention are needed to force and/or seduce Palestinians and Israelis into reaching a - or rather any - modus vivendi. If the conflict remains unresolved for much longer - and if those interested in postponing or altogether avoiding any peace deal are able to persist in using it as an excuse for refraining from dealing with the internal problems of the Jewish state - we might ultimately realize that it has become impossible for us to (re)gain and (re)build Israel as a truly independent, democratic and civilized state.

Friday, May 09, 2003

Don't worry, this has not become a cartoon blog, or one filled with other people's work. Most of my postings will continue to be written by me, and to consist of text only. I just found this beautiful cartoon by the wonderful Dutch cartoonist Opland ( Rob Wout, 1928 - 2001 ), and wanted to share it with the readers of this blog. It was published on June 8th 1967, in the middle of the Six-Day-War. The person about to be executed is Israel, while on the left we can see "The Arab World" shouting "Unsportive behavior!" and "Stop! That's not fair!". While in the last decade or so historians have provided us with much insight into the real level of dangers that Israel found itself exposed to in the spring of 1967 - something which helps us to get quite a balanced view of the relative strength of each and every participant in the war - we should remind ourselves of the threatening atmosphere Israelis lived under in the months that preceded the war. The feeling that the Jewish state's very existence was threatened was shared by many of its sympathizers abroad. Today it would be much less politically correct than in those days to express such feelings of sympathy for Israel. Of course, one reason for that is that the dangers Israel is confronted with today are of a totally different nature than those of 1967. Which threats are more existential remains to be seen.

Monday, May 05, 2003

Regarding "Desponent Mitzna quits..." and "The leader who stuck in their throats" Ha'Aretz, May 5, 2003:
If it is true that each country gets the government and the political opposition it deserves, then G'd help us all. It is bad enough that - as our Prime Minister spends time pushing laws that further his personal interests, and some of his coalition partners travel abroad lobbying for opposition against any possible peace agreement - the government hardly functions, allowing the state to remain adrift and letting those who depend on it sink even deeper into poverty and despair. What is worse and even more depressing is that nobody is there to offer us any alternative. After Benjamin Ben-Eliezer turned the Labor Party ( once again ) into a bad imitation of the Likud - including rowdy party conventions, implicit support for settlers and lack of interest for the plight of the needy - Amram Mitzna tried to offer such an alternative. Instead of supporting him or acknowledging his integrity and apparently honest intentions when he needed such support and acknowledgement, members of the Knesset and of the public only now heap praise upon the latest former Labor Party chairman, after he has stopped being a 'threat'. He probably made the right choice: at this moment the state and people of Israel are either unable or unwilling to appreciate the fact that someone on the left side of the political spectrum is prepared to sacrifice his comfortable personal life for the good of that same state and people, in the name of progressive ideals and values. Right now the very most that left-wing people with integrity, moral values and talents can do is to cherish and develop their talents somewhere out of the limelights, and to hope for better days in the future, when hopefully those talents will at last become useful and appreciated.

Thursday, May 01, 2003

Regarding "Strike continues as economic plan passes..." and "Comptroller accuses PM of interest conflict", Ha'Aretz, May 1, 2003
( Published in Ha'Aretz, May 12, 2003 ):
One of the main causes of Israel's depressing socio-economic situation today is the fact that in addition to the conflict with our Palestinian neighbors there is another category of conflicts that determines our day-to-day reality: the many conflicts of interest. No wonder an economy cannot function properly if since the birth of the state its biggest trade union has had major business and employer's interests, if that union's leader is a Knesset member who - not unlike the Finance Minister - uses strikes principally to further his personal political interests, and if our Prime Minister uses his considerable ( political ) weight to advance his own landholding interests and those of his family. Perhaps the time has come to start yet another political movement, which might be called the Separation Party. Among the central paragraphs of its platform, each of which undoubtedly will serve the interests of the Jewish state, we would find: separation of synagogue/church/mosque and state; separation of Israel and Palestine; separation of interests.